Leslie Mann and Tim Robbins Exit Prime Video Series

The stars are beginning to dim for Amazon’s The Power, as today, Deadline revealed that Leslie Mann and Tim Robbins have both bowed out of the streamer’s upcoming thriller. The news comes as the latest setback for the series which cast Mann back in October 2019 to star opposite Rainn Wilson. Now, two and a half years later, production on the piece still hasn’t begun. Shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic were to blame for the initial slowdown, with Wilson ultimately stepping down due to scheduling issues. When Wilson left, Robbins nabbed the role in January 2021. However, Mann and Robbins have now both jumped ship, leaving the two starring roles open.

The sci-fi thriller acts as an adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s feminist novel of the same name. Set in current times, The Power follows the story of a group of teenage girls from all over the world who are suddenly gifted with the superhuman ability to electrocute people using just their fingers. As the teens begin to discover the hereditary backgrounds of their new life-altering abilities, the story sees a huge power shift take place as women begin to replace men in positions of power.

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Mann was cast as the lead character, Margot Cleary-Lopez. The Mayor of Seattle, Cleary-Lopez, tries to uphold the public’s view of what a good Mayor, wife, and mother of three looks like, all while burying some life-destroying secrets. Meanwhile, Robbins’ departure leaves the role of Daniel Dandon open. The Republican Governor of Washington state, Dandon is stuck in his ways and happy to be there. Overly confident and certain of himself, he’s at constant odds with the Democratic Mayor of Seattle, Margot Cleary-Lopez.

tim-robbins — Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

With the shoes of both characters now open to fill, finding suitable actors should not be a huge challenge. With a story that resembles another fan-favorite series, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Power will almost be a sure thing for Prime Video. Speaking of The Handmaid’s Tale, the director of the show’s first three episodes, Reed Morano is also attached to back The Power. Morano made history for her eye behind the debut episode of The Handmaid’s Tale when she became the first woman to nab both the Emmy and Directors Guild Award for Directing a Drama Series in the same year.

Morano serves as an executive producer alongside Alderman, Jane Featherstone, Naomi de Pear, and Claire Wilson. Featherstone’s Sister Pictures and Tim Bricknell are attached to produce with Sarah Quintrell serving as a co-executive producer. Alderman is adapting her book into series form alongside an all-female writers’ room.

With such a dynamite storyline and production team backing The Power, here’s hoping the audition process for Mann and Robbins’ replacements moves along quickly and that production can soon get underway.

As of right now, no release date has been set.